Review: Forever Evil #7 – New Crisis?

by Jess Camacho

*minor spoilers within*

While it’s “cool” to hate on DC nowadays, the fact of the matter is that Forever Evil was a very good event. In fact it was one of the best event book in recent years. It was a story without the marquis heroes yet still kept readers entertained. Issue #7 was delayed greatly but it does deliver and gives decent finality to this event.

Alexander Luthor (Mazahs) is loose upon the world and taking as many people as he can with him. While he’s wreaking havoc, Lex Luthor and Batman are ready to kill each other. Dick Grayson appears to be dead but because Lex is a genius, he’s not. Not a spoiler since it’s been confirmed and almost thrown in our faces that Dick Grayson will be moving on to bigger things.

Lex Luthor steals the spotlight from everyone this issue. As a whole, Forever Evil was a Lex Luthor story. He was the hero. If it hadn’t been for him, the Justice League would be lost forever and the world as a whole would have been destroyed. He’s not your typical hero because he’s willing to get his hands dirty but he’s a hero none the less. Geoff Johns understands the Lex Luthor character completely. Despite the fact that he finds himself on the “right” side of the law, he’s still Lex. He still has the mind of a villain as shown by how violent he gets when he handles the Crime Syndicate.

Speaking of the Crime Syndicate, the way their journey ends is exactly how it should have ended. Event books are meant to tell a story but also tease what comes next. Ever since the beginning of the New 52, there has been this looming threat of Darkseid doing something big. Due to what we’ve seen in Earth 2 and what the Crime Syndicate claims happened to their planet, it’s a real possibility that we’re going to see a multi – planet crossover event. Enough is left open ended but the immediate threat is handled. Johns is no rookie and knows exactly where this needed to end up.

The problem with Forever Evil is how quickly the *spoiler* Justice League is freed. It was a bit rushed despite knowing how it would happen. There’s a strange moment involving Batman and Wonder Woman as well that may or may not mean anything. It did feel as if it was just thrown in there. The end reveal is also worrisome. Where is the DC Universe going and how will it stay fresh? Without spoiling the ending entirely, there’s reason to be concerned.

Richard Friend and David Finch handle the artwork for Forever Evil #7 and do a nice job. The art is no different from what we’ve already seen in the series thus far. It has a distinct style. Very moody atmosphere. The action panels are done very well. Violent without being overly violent and and very clean.

On it’s own, Forever Evil #7 is a great finale. It does what all events books do. It closes out this story while teasing a lot of other possible stories. If Geoff Johns handles the DC universe as a whole, as he has been with Justice League, then everything will be okay. Forever Evil as a whole was a great event. Delays hurt the impact of the events at the end as well as solicitation spoilers but this was still one of the better event books in recent years.

Bottom Line

Forever Evil #7 is a good book that wraps up this event. It sets up plenty of different roads for the DC Universe to take.

Jess Camacho is the comic editor of Geeked Out Nation. She likes comics. A LOT. You can find her talking about comics all over the internet. Check out her reviews/features here at GON and her work at Multiversity Comics. Follow her on twitter @CamachoJess or email her at camachojess@geekedoutnation.com